Beatrice de Graaf

Beatrice de Graaf is a Professor of History of International Relations & Global Governance at Utrecht University's Department of History and Art History, within the Faculty of Humanities. She serves as Scientific Director of the Adapt! Academy (2025–2035), a consortium funded by a NWO Gravitation grant, focusing on societal crisis resilience. Her roles include core editorships of Terrorism and Political Violence and Journal of Modern European History, and membership in the Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and Academia Europaea. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge and holds fellowships at the Center for Advanced Security Studies in Bonn and George Washington University's Extremism Project.

Education: She earned her PhD from Utrecht University (2004) on GDR, Dutch churches, and the peace movement, awarded the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award. She holds a master's in Modern History and German from Utrecht and Bonn universities. Notable achievements include the NWO Stevin Prize (2018), Arenberg European Prize (2022), Comenius Prize (2022), and Brouwer Trust Prize (2023).

Research focuses on security state evolution, counterterrorism, crisis management, and their impacts on democratic values. Key projects include TerInfo (classroom terrorism education), Security History Network, and JISRA’s 'Reimagining Religion, Security and Social Transformation' (2022–2025). Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary policy, emphasizing resilience and interdisciplinary collaboration. Media engagement includes columns in NRC Handelsblad, international TV/radio appearances, and the Huizinga Lecture (2024).